American Katherine Schuster is the solo leader of the Women’s English Open after shooting a blemish-free eight-under 64 at Manchester Golf Club.
After Wednesday’s first round, the 23-year-old LET Access Series (LETAS) rookie leads England’s 19-year-old amateur Isla McDonald O’Brien (65) by one stroke.
“I’m shocked,” Schuster said. “This is a new PR (personal record) for me. This is only my third ever bogey-free round. So that was kind of in the back of my head, like, oh my goodness, we can keep doing this.
“I was very present today. I feel like every shot had its own purpose and I didn’t get too far ahead of myself. Just staying in the moment, enjoying the day and try to sink putts.”
Starting with back-to-back birdies on her opening two holes, Schuster shot up the leaderboard at the turn following up another birdie on hole eight with an eagle on the par-5 ninth.
“It was quite funny actually,” she said. “I hit a really good drive down the centre. I had about 160 yards, hit a nice little seven-iron, kind of poked it and I had like a 90 footer.
“I kind of just said to myself, all right, we’re going to get this to the hole, never leave an eagle short, and sure enough, it just fell in, and it was the coolest feeling ever.
“Today, the putter was hot, so hopefully we can maintain that for the next couple days and just keep riding that wave.”
She then closed with birdies on holes 11, 13 and 17 to secure her first overnight lead on the LETAS.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been in this position,” she said. “Just doing my best in each shot, and enjoying my playing partners, enjoying the walk with my dad on the bag, so that’s my goal for this week, just to enjoy the sunshine.”
Based in Outer Banks, North Carolina, Schuster has been on the road since May’s Allegria Stegersbach Ladies Open in Austria.
She has made the cut in all five events this season, including a tied-sixth finish in Austria and a tied-14th result at the Ladies German Challenge.
“I’m just trying to enjoy each day,” she added. “The LETAS has some wonderful players, and every group I’ve been in so far has been such a wonderful time.
“We’re kind of doing the European summer, my dad and I, and the places that this game has taken us has been such a privilege. To share it with him has been a dream come true and it’s something I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.”
Trailing by just one shot is English 19-year-old amateur McDonald O’Brien, who stunned everyone by firing a scintillating seven-under 30 on the front nine.
“It was a great round,” McDonald O’Brien said. “I knew the front line is easier than the back nine, so I thought we’ve got to get some birdies on the front nine.
“There’s three par-fives, so they’re quite short, so they were quite gettable. So that was my aim of the day, just birdie all the par-fives, and then I rolled a few good putts in.”
After the turn, she added three more birdies but a double bogey on hole 12 and a bogey on hole 17 stopped her from breaking the course record of 63.
“I had two errant tee shots that cost me a few shots,” she added. “But overall, it was a good fight back. I didn’t really have any expectations coming into this week.
“I just knew that there’s a lot of great golfers in this field. It was just, I’m gonna go out there and have fun and see what happens. My mindset is just keep firing birdies and see how it plays out.”
Another stroke behind, tied for third at six-under overall, are the duo of Czechia’s Tereza Zapletal Kozeluhova and England’s Billie-Jo Smith (both 66).
In a tie for fifth place are Sweden’s Sofie Bringner and England’s Ellie Gower (both 67), one shot ahead of the trio of Italy’s Maria Vittoria Corbi, United States’ Antonia Malate and Sweden’s Linn Wiberg (all 68) in a tie for seventh.
Order of Merit leader Lauren Holmey carded a three-under 69 to be in tied-10th, while other notable scores include Switzerland’s Natalie Armbruester (70) and Iceland’s Hulda Gestsdottir (71).
The second round of the Women’s English Open resumes at 7.30am (local time) on Thursday morning.
There will be a cut to the top 45 professionals and ties at the end of the day.
Keep up with all the action on the LETAS on our socials – @LETAccess on Instagram and X and LET Access Series on Facebook.
